Engineer's Day: Furlan/Unicamp projects reinforce the search for continuous improvement

Sharing knowledge between different generations, who work in different areas, such as industry and academia. This experience marks Engineer's Day at Máquinas Furlan.

Although officially celebrated on December 11th, Engineer's Day was brought forward in our celebrations to the 6th, bringing together specialist engineers and 9 future professionals in the area to present their innovative work in equipment and parts for the mining industry.

The work is a continuation of the partnership that Máquinas Furlan has with the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), through the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA). The Center for Industries of the State of São Paulo (Ciesp) is part of a partnership.

The proposals were made by students of the Production and Manufacturing Engineering courses. One of the objectives of the action is to benefit customers with innovative ideas that improve productivity and reduce operating costs.

This time, part of the Course Conclusion Works (TCC) represents the evolution of projects previously presented by other students, which demonstrates Furlan's commitment to adopting the measures proposed since the beginning of the partnership.

We have increased operational efficiency, says CEO Valter Furlan

"The partnership between Furlan, Ciesp and FCA/Unicamp represents a perfect synergy between theory and practice, innovation and concrete results. Through real engineering challenges, students developed transformative solutions, such as the structural optimization of jaw crushers, which significantly reduced costs, and the application of Lean Manufacturing, which revolutionized our production by increasing efficiency and eliminating overtime", says Valter Zutin Furlan, CEO of the company.

We talk about Lean Manufacturing at Furlan in this post . 

"We also created automated programs that optimize the use of inputs, promoting sustainability and savings. These projects enriched the students' education and strengthened our competitiveness, demonstrating that together we grow and conquer new horizons", says Valter Furlan.

Project benefits reach customers, says engineer

The New Product, Service and Application Development (DNPSA) area sees good results from the action. Professionals from different segments of the company are part of DNPSA, some of them engineers.

“In this partnership, we are moving towards a process of continuous maturation and learning for the teachers, tutors, professionals and students involved; it is an intense win-win relationship. With each new class, the demands increase and bring new and enriching experiences to everyone; and the most important thing is the abandonment of previous habits and practices”, says Homero Santos, manager of DNPSA.

A mechanical engineer with 45 years of experience in product design and development, Homero reports that some of the projects took just six months to implement, with immediate implementation. In the more “laborious” projects, Homero sees “a kind of relay race,” in which one group takes the development to a certain stage and the next group takes over from there.

Improved productivity, increased equipment and parts lifespan, optimized use of inputs and increased competitiveness are benefits brought by the partnership. “This search for continuous improvement also impacts Furlan customers,” says Homero.

Future engineers praise the partnership

And this partnership has been praised by future engineers. Maria Clara Sciarra, in her 8th semester of Production Engineering, participated in the group about the work of Lean Manufacturing in reducing the time spent searching for and organizing parts. The goals are to improve processes and increase Furlan's operational efficiency.

The group included students Eduarda De Goes Kakimoto and Leonardo Gardinali Serra. “It was a fantastic experience, largely due to the active participation of the Furlan staff in the work,” says Maria Clara.

Henrique Ferraresi Romagnolli analyzed improvements for vibrating screens, alongside fellow student Daniel José Mirage. “We thought not only about the best solution, but also one that is viable when applied,” says Henrique, who is in his 11th semester of Manufacturing Engineering.

The other groups in the second semester of 2024 included students Nicolas Toncheis, Vinicius Campovilla da Silva, Isabella Queiroz Correa and Renan Seiichi Ogura. Professors Jaime Izuka, Paulo Ignácio and Daniel Iwao were part of the projects.

"The groups worked for a semester on real industrial problems, which is very good for the students. For Furlan, partnerships show how to see the entire process differently, in actions that are also evaluated by professors", says Talita Oliveira, Manufacturing Engineer and Project Analyst at Furlan.

Thus, on Engineer's Day, Furlan also reinforces its traditional commitment to the community, in different areas. In this case, the partnership with Ciesp and Unicamp, the company shares the knowledge acquired in 62 years of existence with professionals who work or intend to work in the supply of machinery and equipment for the mining industry.